Dustless Foam Saw Blades

[C855B]

In the LK&O engineering thread I noted an accidental find on Amazon, a jigsaw blade just for extruded foam: http://www.amazon.com/Festool-493656-Foam-cutting-Jigsaw-3-pack/dp/B0033LBOJY/. My order arrived today and I did a little testing.



They cut 2" foam "like buttah!" Zero dust. None. Incredibly smooth cuts, as long as you can keep blade speed under control. The spalling you see in most of the cuts above was my cheap jigsaw and twitchy trigger finger running the blade too fast. A better saw would have more control. Even at 45° cut angles it moved through the foam like nothing. The uneven cuts are all from the material not being clamped and wanting to wander as I moved the saw against the guide, or the shoe on the (again) cheap saw climbing the guide. The blade performed perfectly.

As far as my layout construction is concerned, this is "it".

[wcfn100]

Another useful tool is a old electric carving knife.  You can't cut straight through, but you can carve the foam without any mess.

Jason

[Chris333]

That blade looks like its made for a certain model saw. My saw takes blades with 2 holes at the end.

[Zox]

That blade looks like its made for a certain model saw. My saw takes blades with 2 holes at the end.

There are two common types of jigsaw blade, U-shank and T-shank. The Festool blades are T-shank, which is the newer style.

http://www.ereplacementparts.com/article/3387/Jigsaw_Blade_Buying_Guide.html

[Chris333]

Mine is a U shank. I've never used a saw that took the other blades. Maybe it's time to get a new saw...

[C855B]

Mine is a U shank. I've never used a saw that took the other blades. Maybe it's time to get a new saw...

Yeah, sounds like it. T-shank isn't that new - probably been around 15 years or so... maybe 20. Come to think of it, I have one of the old saws with the screws... a Craftsman I bought around 1980. Sort of a PITA to change blades.

Anyway, the T-shank is nothing special, nor brand-specific. The "cheap saw" I was complaining about is a B&D I got from Home Depot around 10 years ago for something like 30 bucks.